{"title":"Designing innovative heterostructures composed of TiO2/Bi2Te3/carbon cloth for highly efficient sodium-ion batteries†","authors":"Manshu Han, Yirong Zhao, Yongfeng Bai, Yu Li, Minghua Chen and Qingguo Chen","doi":"10.1039/D4CE00712C","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >Bi-based materials can retain massive amounts of sodium ions through alloying and conversion reactions, resulting in excellent theoretical capacity. However, during the sodiation/desodiation process, there is always a significant volume change in the alloying reaction. In this work, TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>-coated hexagonal-phase topological insulator (TI) Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small> composites grown on carbon cloth (CC) were prepared using a solvothermal reaction and an atomic layer deposition process (TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>/Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small>/CC) as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries without the need for a binder. Compared to the pure Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small> electrode, the optimized TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>/Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small>/CC composite exhibits a superior specific capacity of 450 mA h g<small><sup>−1</sup></small>, a high rate performance of 0.1 A g<small><sup>−1</sup></small>, and a high cycling stability of 100 cycles due to the inherent properties of TIs, contributed by the effective TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small> cladding layer and large interfacial spacing of Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small>. The enhanced reversible capacitance, rate capability, and cycling performances can be attributed to the heterointerfaces and excellent mechanical properties of TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>, which balance the electronic structure of the building blocks and inhibit the detaching of Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small> due to large internal stresses. The amorphous TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>/Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small>/CC composite was treated in a tubular furnace to obtain crystalline TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small>/Bi<small><sub>2</sub></small>Te<small><sub>3</sub></small>/CC, and the electrochemical performance of the heterostructures formed by the TiO<small><sub>2</sub></small> coating layer with different properties was compared. This work demonstrates the enormous potential for enhancing the sodium-ion storage capabilities of alloy electrode materials by constructing heterostructures.</p>","PeriodicalId":70,"journal":{"name":"CrystEngComm","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"CrystEngComm","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/ce/d4ce00712c","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Bi-based materials can retain massive amounts of sodium ions through alloying and conversion reactions, resulting in excellent theoretical capacity. However, during the sodiation/desodiation process, there is always a significant volume change in the alloying reaction. In this work, TiO2-coated hexagonal-phase topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 composites grown on carbon cloth (CC) were prepared using a solvothermal reaction and an atomic layer deposition process (TiO2/Bi2Te3/CC) as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries without the need for a binder. Compared to the pure Bi2Te3 electrode, the optimized TiO2/Bi2Te3/CC composite exhibits a superior specific capacity of 450 mA h g−1, a high rate performance of 0.1 A g−1, and a high cycling stability of 100 cycles due to the inherent properties of TIs, contributed by the effective TiO2 cladding layer and large interfacial spacing of Bi2Te3. The enhanced reversible capacitance, rate capability, and cycling performances can be attributed to the heterointerfaces and excellent mechanical properties of TiO2, which balance the electronic structure of the building blocks and inhibit the detaching of Bi2Te3 due to large internal stresses. The amorphous TiO2/Bi2Te3/CC composite was treated in a tubular furnace to obtain crystalline TiO2/Bi2Te3/CC, and the electrochemical performance of the heterostructures formed by the TiO2 coating layer with different properties was compared. This work demonstrates the enormous potential for enhancing the sodium-ion storage capabilities of alloy electrode materials by constructing heterostructures.